The Cold War Begins Overview of the Cold War and Cold War s first years 1946 1950ish What is the Cold War o Refers to a time period of American History 1946 1991 o Refers to tensions between United States and Soviet Union Term cold war used by 1947 o Meant that countries were hostile toward one another o Often interpreted actions in most threatening way possible o No direct military war between US and Soviets o There are proxy wars get involved with other wars in other countries o Other countries got drawn into hostilities and tensions Both US and Soviets spent vast sums of money on the military o Led to escalation effect trying to outdo one another How did the Cold War come to be Stemmed from tensions of WWII o Defeat of Germany and Japan eliminated common cause o Tensions about how to handle post war world Tentative plans made at Yalta Conference in February 1945 o US Great Britain Italy western Europe Japan o Soviet Union eastern Europe Poland Bulgaria Soviets wanted buffer against Germany o Promises seemed easier in the midst of the war Carrying out plans proved difficult or undesirable o Suspicion existed on all sides about motivations and intentions Soviet and US had different perspectives and influences o Soviet Union suffered significantly in war Wanted Germans to pay for losses Wanted friendly governments in eastern Europe o US emerged from war with strong economy and the atomic bomb Believed American politics and economic system superior Thought war could have been avoided by stronger opposition to Hitler From Missouri served in WWI Served as a judge in 1920s elected to US Senate in 1934 President Truman assumed office April 1945 Nominated to be VP in 1944 Intelligent astute politician Lacked FDR s charm and experience Considered accidental president Truman faced 2 big problems at the end of WWII o What to do about the economy o What to do about foreign affairs o Both were interrelated one affected the other Americans worried about post war crash o Businesses needed foreign resources and foreign markets to sustain o Needed governments that were friendly to American system Allowed free trade acted favorably to US interests o Not entirely about self interest o Americans politicians believed American way was the best way What would Truman do with foreign policy By 1946 Truman saw Soviet Union as major threat to US o Hoped for cooperation on US terms o Believed firm line was necessary to counter Stalin Emphasis became more on firm line than cooperation in 1946 o Soviets established friendly regimes in Poland and Bulgaria Words escalated tensions too o February 1946 Stalin said capitalism ended in war o March 1946 Churchill said iron curtain descending across eastern Europe Policy proposal in 1946 by George Kennan escalated division o Kennan said that Soviet Union was insecure and aggressive o Needed to expand to maintain authority at home o Said negotiation not feasible o US should adopt hard policy of limiting expansion o Became known as policy of containment o Views published in 1947 in a magazine for the public o Justified US interventions across globe for 4 decades o US would stop Soviet Union and expansion of communism American public Republicans not sold on containment Two crises in Mediterranean changed their minds o Greece and Turkey suffered from unrest and uprisings o Internal and external pressure to reform government o Included calls for socialism and communism o Truman asked Congress for 400 million aid package o Had to convince Republican leaders o Did that by describing a domino effect in Mediterranean His argument was that if Greece and Turkey become communists many more places would too and that would threaten American security If Greece or Turkey fell communism could advance into the Middle East Why was Truman asking for money to help and not troops Based on the idea that economic stability led to political stability Idea became foundation for Truman Doctrine o Americans had a duty to provide economic aid to free people under the threat of subjugation Congress approved aid for Turkey and Greece o Tied supporting anti communist governments with national security US sent more money to Europe in 1948 o European Recovery Act Marshall Plan o 5 years 13 billion in aid to 16 countries o To get people to buy American goods and to tie them to American interests we helped them they ll help us Soviet Union taking steps to protect own interests 1948 supported coup in Czechoslovakia set up communist government 1948 cut off land access to Berlin for US and the allies o Berlin and Germany had been divided in 1945 Truman refused to leave western Berlin to Soviets o For 11 months they air lifted supplies into the city o 1949 Stalin called off blockade o Incident proved wisdom of containment for Americans Still Americans are alarmed Truman and his advisors pursued 5 strategies to strengthen containment o Continued after Truman s administration Number 1 Build up nuclear weapons arsenal o US lost monopoly on atomic power in 1949 o Truman authorized construction of Hydrogen bomb in 1954 o Soviet Union tested its own in 1955 o 1950s onward nuclear strategy based on deterrence o Building more and more weapons to counter the other o Locked the US and the Soviets into an arms race Number 2 Build up the traditional military o National Security Act passed in 1947 o Put military branches under control of a single secretary o Formed National Security Council to advise the president o Enacted peacetime draft for military o Made women s units permanent o By 1950 1 5 million people in uniform 4 times as many during the 1930s o By 1950 defense budget consumed 1 3 of federal budget Became permanent feature US had role as world policeman Number 3 Collective Security o 1949 US joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO o Canada western European powers o Peacetime military alliance Meant to deter Soviet Union from aggression o First time US pledged to go to war if allies attacked o 1951 US signed similar pact with Australia New Zealand the Philippines Number 4 Give money and aid to anti communist governments o Marshall Plan aid to Turkey and Greece o 1 billion went to NATO allies Number 5 Use covert activities to undermine communism o 1947 National Security Act created Central Intelligence agency CIA o CIA meant to gather intelligence on foreign threats o Perform duties related to protecting national security o Vague operating parameters questionable oversight o Eventually led to CIA